KYIV, Ukraine: Explosions tore through Kyiv overnight, killing at least 12 people and injuring 34 as Russian missiles and drones struck residential and civilian areas, Ukrainian officials said Thursday, exposing the mounting pressure on the capital’s air defenses.
The attacks began around midnight as air raid sirens rang across the city. Apartment buildings and warehouses were damaged, while a children’s hospital and a school were also hit, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
The strikes knocked out power to thousands of properties, leaving parts of the Kyiv region in darkness as emergency crews searched damaged sites and treated the wounded.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the casualties highlighted Ukraine’s shortage of air defense missiles, which Kyiv relies heavily on Western allies to supply.
“As long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistics, Russia will not seriously think about peace,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces used air-, land- and sea-launched weapons to target Ukrainian military facilities and warehouses. It also claimed that 726 Ukrainian drones had been shot down.
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Ukrainian authorities declared Friday a day of mourning for those killed in the overnight attacks.
The violence extended beyond the capital. An attack in the Brovary and Boryspil districts of the wider Kyiv region killed one man and wounded seven others, while one person was killed and 11 injured in Donetsk Oblast, according to local officials.
The latest strikes also triggered security alerts in neighboring countries. Romania’s Defense Ministry said a drone crossed into its territory near the northern border with Ukraine before crashing in an uninhabited area. Poland’s military said it launched defensive air operations to protect its airspace.
The attacks come amid a recent increase in long-range strikes by both sides. Ukraine launched a wave of about 600 drones toward Moscow over the weekend, while separate attacks in Russia this week killed at least 16 people, including a child, according to Russian officials.
Ukraine has also stepped up attacks on Russian economic infrastructure. Its Defense Ministry said recent strikes had disabled seven of the 10 logistics centers operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer.
Despite the intensifying attacks, diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire have made little progress. Moscow and Kyiv continue to accuse each other of targeting civilians.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, largely in the east and south.
With Russian strikes continuing and air defense supplies under pressure, Kyiv faces a growing challenge in protecting civilians while the war enters another prolonged phase.
